Downtown Atascadero to Welcome Garden City Market in 2026

Atascadero is soon going to get a new market. Garden City Market, a family-owned marketplace, is preparing to open at 6755 El Camino Real, near the Sunken Gardens. 

The business is expected to open in early 2026, the general store announced in a social media post on November 4, 2025. 

Garden City Market will be a mixed-use community space that will have a “curated general store, grab-and-go food offerings, and local vendor partnerships,” the post added. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Garden City Market (@gardencity.market)

The announcement included videos and images of the renovation and construction work at the expansive building. 

“Demolition, meetings, planning, creating, permits, dreaming, and working are in full swing,” the post said. 

The store’s central location will allow residents to see the changes as they happen, the post added. The opening date, however, depends on the timing of permitting and remodeling. 

Garden City Market is owned by husband and wife duo Tom and Rebecca Nearing. 

Describing themselves as the “dreamers behind Garden City Market,” the couple wrote in another post that they had envisioned a general store and community marketplace for years. 

“Alabama boy” Tom and “Paso girl” Rebecca met in Los Angeles 17 years ago and eventually decided to settle in Atascadero in 2018, they added. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Garden City Market (@gardencity.market)

Downtown Atascadero’s Revitalization Efforts

Garden City Market’s location near the historic Sunken Gardens is part of Atascadero’s core downtown area. This region has undergone revitalization efforts in recent years. 

The El Camino Real Downtown Safety and Parking Enhancement (ECR) Project seeks to improve safety, parking capacity, economic vitality, and aesthetics of the El Camino Real downtown corridor. 

The 0.6-mile road stretches between Highway 41 and Rosario Avenue. 

Planned since 2017, the project is a community-driven initiative developed in partnership with local businesses, residents, and community stakeholders. 

Construction began with utility improvements in June 2024, followed by streetscape construction that was completed in summer 2025. 

Design work for the Gateway Arches started in summer 2025, with construction expected to begin in early to mid-2026. 

Prior to this enhancement project, El Camino Real spanned about 80 feet curb-to-curb and still resembled its past role as a highway.